Morning Bell: Oil Spill Response is “Stuck on Stupid”

If you only listened to President Obama, you wouldn’t even know an oil spill is occurring in the Gulf. He hasn’t spoken publicly about the oil spill since June 22 when he announced it was on a laundry list of items discussed at a cabinet meeting. Before that, on June 16, he spoke briefly after negotiating his secret liability deal with BP. Other than those two instances, the president hasn’t spent another public moment focusing on the spill since he began fighting the “battle” against “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced” from the Oval Office four weeks ago.

The media not only haven’t asked him a question about the crisis, they have been complicit in its degradation, allowing the president to ignore the plight of his fellow Americans without journalistic oversight. In less than two weeks, we’ll hit Day 100, and the media will regain focus for the arbitrary and news-friendly date, but what will they cover on Day 101? And imagine BP manages to cap the leak – as we all pray occurs – without the streaming video of oil gushing, how much attention will the national media and the president give to the remaining environmental and economic crisis?

The Heritage Foundation sent a team of experts to Louisiana last week to see first-hand the crisis and the coordinated response. Based on earlier reports, our expectations were low. However, the federal government’s involvement turned out to be so much worse.

The first thing we actually heard from every single Louisianan we spoke with had nothing to do with the capping or cleanup of the oil — it was the devastating impact of the Obama drilling moratorium. Legally, the moratorium has been struck down in two major court decisions, yet the administration continues on, trying to reshape it to survive future hearings, and creating the necessary uncertainty for a de facto moratorium to exist anyway.

As Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA) said: “We have very serious concerns that the Department of Interior is going to announce a second moratorium. As members of the court pointed out today during the hearing, despite the injunction against the original moratorium, we currently have a de facto moratorium because of uncertainty from the Department of Interior.”

You would think the seafood industry would support the ban on drilling, since oil is now threatening their way of life, but not so. In fact, the shrimpers and fishers are some of the biggest advocates for ending the ban so the Louisiana economy does not suffer any more, and so more jobs aren’t lost. As one official told us, first the fisherman had to figure out how to pay his bills. Now his brother’s family is going hungry. President Obama needs to categorically end his assault on the economy of Louisiana. Now is not the time for politics.

Ironically, royalties from offshore drilling in Louisiana are designated by the state constitution to pay for critical infrastructure protection and coastal restoration. The longer this drilling moratorium continues, the longer Louisiana has to wait to protect itself from future disasters. Eric Smith, an energy expert at Tulane University, pointed out that the moratorium also increases the risk of a spill because that threat increases every time you start and stop operations. Smith also pointed out that putting two to three independent safety inspectors on each rig, paid for by the oil companies, would be a low-cost alternative to the moratorium.

Offshore platforms are already leaving the Gulf, and many more are marketing their services elsewhere. Once they leave, it may be years, if not decades, before they return. And if they do return, it will be at added cost due to the potential for more broken contracts.

The second item we heard most often was that unnecessary federal permitting delays were making environmental and economic protection impossible. The marshes, waters and estuaries make up a complicated eco-system that protects south Louisiana from flooding and prevents oil from reaching inland. Yet, without the ability to build rock jetties, dykes and sand berms, the environment is going unprotected. Why? Because the left absurdly believes the protective measures might cause long-term damage, despite assurances that all measures are temporary, could be removed, and BP would pay for it. Ignoring this crisis in favor of a mythical one 30 years away must end, today.

Local officials are positive that plans they have had in place for years will work, and that shallow water vessels exist that minimize potential long term impacts. In the last ten years, these same communities have helped build 700 acres of new protective marsh. President Obama needs to listen to their input and stop the delays.

We also discovered that response crews are being prevented from working at night or for more than 20 minutes out of every hour. And apparently, those 20 minutes an hour aren’t even in shifts, but total stoppages. Louisiana fishermen are no strangers to working at night, or long hours. BP could easily afford the GPS, maps and lights needed to extend work hours. But so far, the daily response time to this crisis is simply unbalanced to the disaster itself.

If you’ve seen the broken well, you know that the oil spill itself isn’t taking mandated breaks. President Obama needs to explain what is preventing a 24/7 response and what actions he can take to change that; if his hands are tied, he needs to ensure the manpower can be tripled to make up for the ineffective labor schedules.

We also saw many other areas where the federal government is simply making matters worse. President Obama’s commission examining the spill has no industry or local expertise, but is instead loaded with environmentalists searching for a justification to institute cap and trade energy taxes.

We saw how entrepreneurs are being discouraged from offering solutions, and when offered, are met with months of red tape. We observed a claims process begging for transparency. Overall, we witnessed the need for a strong political leader that can be held accountable for the keystone-cop federal effort.

Ineptitude. Incompetence. Inattention. We heard these themes consistently as we traveled across the Gulf, but perhaps the best description came from a local Louisiana official who told our team that the federal response was “stuck on stupid.” Indeed.

Rory Cooper is Director of Strategic Communications at The Heritage Foundation. In this position, Cooper coordinates the think tank’s external message and internal communications, manages its entire digital communications and social media portfolios, and develops new media partnerships. Cooper also serves as the executive editor for The Foundry, the conservative policy news blog at Heritage.

Why would anyone expect anything from this jackass,Obama, he has no clue how to solve an additon problem, let alone an oil spill. He has gotten offers from 13 countries 3 days after the spill, did he accept of course not. He was ask by My senator from Fla. why the skimmers were in the outer part of ocean and not in use. When you hear the answer I am sure you will vomit. He said" we may need them if there is an oil spill elsewhere. Hey , you stupid piece of garbage the Gulf coast is dying one day at a time. He is deliberately not allowing any recover for this. Why you ask remember cap and trade, well my fellow americans that's it in a nutshell. He could care less about anything but his agenda to destroy our country. The sooner all Americans realize this horror for what he is the quicker we rid ourselves of this cancer and the rest of his commie buddies, Let's start with Cass Sustein, Anita Dunn, best one Dr. Ration Master, Berwick. America wake upwe are going down the toliet.

Just as he is ignoring the Immigration issue and suing the State Of Arizona, he will and is ignoring the oil disaster. Need we say more. Obama for sure is the Biggest mistake our country has ever in our history made.

Saying that the Federal government's response to the oil disaster is "Stuck On Stupid" is an insult to stupid people. It makes the bungling of Katrina look like poetry in motion.

When the actions taken in response to a problem make absolutely no sense, when they defy reason and logic, you know with certainty that the real agenda has nothing to do with the problem. In this case, the agenda is Cap & Trade, not the environment.

" We saw how entrepreneurs are being discouraged from offering solutions, and when offered, are met with months of red tape. We observed a claims process begging for transparency. Overall, we witnessed the need for a strong political leader that can be held accountable for the keystone-cop federal effort.

Ineptitude. Incompetence. Inattention. We heard these themes consistently as we traveled across the Gulf, but perhaps the best description came from a local Louisiana official who told our team that the federal response was “stuck on stupid.” Indeed."

The need "Political" or otherwise governmental leadership has long passed. We rely too much on politicians and their days are over. Obama AND Bush both have proven government fails every time it is tried. It is not just the President or Congress that fails, it is mostly the beast that hides behind them – the bureaucracy. We can have a well-intentioned administration, but we still have all the acronyms departments all over the District that refuse to do their job.

If they were as intelligent as they think they are, each and every office in DC would not be hiring right now. Rather, they would be firing. DC is spending vapor and with housing starts and home sales plummeting a record 30% in a month, these "intelligent" people should be realizing that there IS no cash to pay for what they are doing and that we are at a critical point where emergency measures will have to be employed (massive firings) to counter all of this.

As an example, I was just at Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA this weekend for the first time and realized that we the taxpayers are footing the bill for wealthy people in the area to attend some cheap but elegant entertainment. The federal park was littered with federal employees not really doing much. In fact several were standing in one place dancing to the music throughout the entire play! If it were a fully private sector event, there would have been fewer employees and they would have been busy.

With all their abuses on the American citizens, you still think this oil spill mess needs to be led by a self-serving politician? This man or woman regardless of how effective they are, are seeking an office. I want to see the industry "take command". Get their point person out there. Demonstrate the virtues of the private sector. Rather than cow-tow to the District which everyone is doing right now, get out there and be a voice and act. People need leadership and will respond to that leadership. Today's revolution is to get out there with that big skimmer and start picking up oil right now. Force the government to stop them to the point of making arrests. Make that kind of scene. I will tell you right now, no government official will want to be the one who stopped that action. If they do, they will personally go down along with the administration.

This Government is too big to fail and it has failed. It is time for the people to rise and get to work and solve these problems on their own. Thereby proving for the last time, the era of big government is over. We need to get that big skimmer going without the government's help or hindrance. This revolution will need not cost lives and will not require anything more than a belief and a dedication that we the people when driven can meet any challenge and beat it.

I feel for all those without jobs and incoming money for daily needs. Perhaps if the government would stop spending on expensive bills such as the national healthcare or this cap n trade coming up, or "feeding" Fannie and Freddie, or frivolous pork, etc. Americans would gladly support extended unemployment to all those in need, especailly in the Gulf region. Eventually,

won't we all end up being beholding to the government for assistance? Oh wait! that IS the plan!

Liberal Media is not showing what is truelu happening, they are protecting this person so that the weak and ignorant will vote for him again. BHO has been runnning for re-election since Jan. 20 2009, in the mean time he's doing his best to ruin this country anyway he can, economy, armed forces, and yes the oil spill.

The reason things are "stuck on stupid" is that so many people simply don't want to hear it. Too busy jonesing, or climbing the economic ladder themselves, to believe that the government cannot solve all the ills.

Bureaucratic sludge is to blame for the inability to build nuclear power and lead up to electric vehicles, so now we reap global warming, which many doubt. No one in the media realizes that the only real objective of a bureaucrat is to gain two more subordinates while drawing their paycheck until retirement. There may be enough government employees added to the unions and amnesty seekers to turn the November election. I mourn for my beloved country if that happens.

Obama got what he wanted from this crisis and has moved on. The photos of the destruction will be used by his team and environmental wackos as reasoning for not drilling.[The news had a blurb about some recent new oil leases; that is his method; give a little and take allot and then use the give to cover the take away. And even though, he has and continues to allow the aftermath to be horrific, I hope the Republicans have the nerve to use the photos as to why he and his party need to be defeated this year and in 2012. The damages caused by the federal government and by extension Obama are inexcusable. Fingers need to be pointed right at Obama for this. And the Maybe more Americans will realize just who the main stream media is and stop supporting them.

Understand this, Obama has NO interest in fixing anything in America. His focus is to destroy everything that is American. Too many are hesitant or afraid to call him what he is: an anti-american President! a marxist inspired socialist progressive. Like most "socio-political activists" he speaks about helping the masses for the collective good, but reveals that he couldn't care less about individuals' needs.

I believe that in his narcissism he sees himself as "good", but in realty he is an evil man because he has no love for this country or people as individuals and their freedoms. His ideology obsesses him and the sad part is that he is getting away with his dastardly plans!

Progressivism infects every aspect of American life today and Obama is the "Typhoid Mary" of our generation.

Signs of America getting "UNstuck on Stupid" are continuing to emerge! Even Democrats (!) are angry at what is happening and want their Party back!

Recently, a series of 4 short videos was released, called "We Will Not Be Silenced." You can Google it and it will be there. It is stunning! It reveals the absolute fraud, told by people who witnessed it, during the last caucuses. This fraud, of course, is what got this guy elected president. Very disturbing, but informative. I was quite touched by the sincere concern, and outright anger expressed by these folks. Do yourself a favor by watching it. Then, make it go viral!

This gave me a much-needed lift, seeing more Democrats joining the clarion call, I hope it does you, as well! We'll get through this hell! And, America will be united again! My heart goes out to all of you! Stand fast!

This "technology" of replacing the broken well head with a new one is not new to oil well disasters. Oil companies have been doing this for years. Why did they wait? Why didn't they do this 80 days ago? I smell a rat.

The oil will keep on gushing,..and the illegals will keep on crossing if we don't fix the problems first…I fear Obama will pass a amnesty bill first,.(by executive order,or deamed passed)..then ,that would cause a border rush that will cause riots and unrest,violence,crimes and end result,…no election.

Obama got what he wanted from this crisis and has moved on. The photos of the destruction will be used by his team and environmental wackos as reasoning for not drilling. The news had a blurb about some recent new oil leases; that is his method; give a little and take allot. And even though, he has and continues to allow the aftermath to be horrific, I hope the Republicans have the nerve to use the photos as to why he and his party need to be defeated this year and in 2012. The damages caused by the federal government and by extension Obama are inexcusable. Fingers need to be pointed right at Obama for this. Maybe more Americans will realize just who the main stream media is and stop supporting them.

Every newspaper should be reporting these corrupt and illegal acts by BO and his henchmen, but they won't, because they are covering for him. This is all about BO and his agenda for the country. He could care less about the Gulf. Remember in 2010 and 2012 and vote the crooks out.

I keep one TV on Fox News so get constant reports on the spill as well as all the other debacles of the administration. With the southern states, Arizona and other areas being ignored and "racial profiling" done by our "leaders"??, you began to wonder if this administration isn't punishing those states/areas that did not "fall all over him" with their support. Sometimes, I wonder if I am in another country with all the "hell breaking loose" on a daily basis.

Prayer and recognizing God is bringing together all the players for the "end times" keeps me "sane".

I AM SO ANGRY THAT THE STATES HAVE TO COWTOW TO THIS OUT OF CONTROL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. CORRUPT AND LEANING TOWARD A DICTATORSHIP. WAKE UP AMERICA! IF WE LOSE THE GULF OIL DRILLING, NEXT GOES ALL THE REST. OBAMA WILL SHUT THIS COUNTRY DOWN AND THAT MEANS 9 MILLION JOBS, PLUS THOSE THAT WILL RELATE TO OIL.BUSINESS MEN ACROSS THIS COUNTRY UNITE AND FIGHT THIS USURPER. IF YOU WAIT ANY LONGER YOUR COMPANIES ARE IN DANGER. FIGHT WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL SSTAND WITH YOU. OBAMA HAS MADE THREATS TO EVERYONE ALL ACROOS THIS LAND. HE CAN'T THROW ALL OF US IN JAIL AT ONE

Obama's refusal to lift the "moritorium"' is having it's intended effect. Offshore oil drilling rigs, seeing the writing on the wall, are moving away from America. Obama wants to suffocate the "Crackers."

George you are right on with the points you make. I live in New Orleans and I have been saying all along lets get to work no matter the permits. Lets do what it takes to save what we can. But lets make sure we have some media coverage of this because you can bet people will be arrested (volunteers, concerned citizens, etc).

Why the ban on the media?? They have something to hide? Not just BP but the Administrations total incompetence. For them to have let this go unattended for 80+ days should be reason for impeachment.

This smacks of the same thing that goes on in the education world constantly: The "peons" don't know what's going on in their field of expertise; only the almighty heads at the top know how to solve the problems…NOT! It doesn't matter to them that you work with it daily and could solve the problems. They think they know what's best for us all. My vote in November will reflect my disgust for the aristocracy.

I would like to see the Heritage Foundation research and publish information about the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. As I understand the Act, it was passed by a Democratic Congress to limit the liabililty of oil and gas development of our offshore natural resources. The thinking was that no company is going to risk its economic viability to supply oil and gas, unless there is a limit to their exposure. In place of the limitation, the US government collected taxes since 1990 and was suppose to provide oil pollution containment and remediation equipment.

Although I'm sure the government collected the taxes, where's the containment and remediation equipment. Why isn't this major failure on the part of our federal government getting the press that it deserves and why isn't the media demanding to know why the government has not fulfilled its obligation?

The government is doing little to help the oil spill crisis. This is mainly because they really do not know what to do because of a real lack of experience. They can not move on because they do not know how. Waive the Jones Act and invite any professionals from inside and outside the country to act swiftly. Do not keep the media from reporting. Bush had to deal with negative press after Katrina even though it was Louisiana State officials who asked him to give them a few days to work on it themselves and when they weren't there on day 2 they shifted the blame to the President but I saw the interview on NBC the day after Katrina and I know what I heard.

As a retired environmental engineer with over 20 years experience involving six major oil spills in four countries. The last being the La Coruna, Spain spill in 2002. I am not surprised by the "Government" response to the Maconda/BP spill.

I have offered my services to BP, Transocean, Dept of Interior. The staff @ BP have been more than agreeable to listen to proven methods of containment and remediation presented.

As in every spill in US waters, the Corp of Engineers, USGC, DOI, NOAA are all seeking to be in control and get the publicity.

The opportunity to contain the spill was lost within the first five days. The USGC would not allow the shrimpers and oystermen to move quickly with out inspection of their vessels. An oilspill has to be conducted like a military operation….. Operating on many fronts from all sides 24/7 without government involvement requiring bureaucratic red tape….Period…..

I would be honored to provide my services to the foundation on this matter.

I personally think that Obama is deliberately allowing the oil to destroy the gulf so he can then declare it off limits for humans. This would fit right into the U'N's communist Agenda 21 , the agenda that our government has been SNEAKING past us continually. Please research this on your own. STOP sustainable development.STOP ICLEI, Stop Smart Growth..STOP the global warming lies..Pass the word on and get involved.

I think the guy who wrote that people need to just get out in the gulf and do the cleanup without govt permission had it right. This hold up is a deliberate thing and it's dirty, I can bet on it.

I am one of your best supporters; however, "Platforms" are somewhat permanent and do not "leave the Gulf". Drilling vessels are leaving the Gulf of Mexico – not platforms. Your "experts" should know the difference.

Great article on the oil spill. I think the repair is an obvious stall. Wish Heritage would dig into why George Soros invested in off-shore drilling ($1,000,000) in Brazil. Obama followed through with $2,000,000,000 to Brazil and states that he supports drilling there.

Yet, he continued to fight the people of the Gulf who want to go on with their lives and favor drilling, supported by two court decisions. I believe that Obama is deliberately destroy our economy via the Cloward-Piven strategy. Delores Smith Delores109

You didn't really expect BHO to say anything about one of his failures, did you? He is too busy telling us all that he is saving the economy from those awful things that George Bush did. Be ready America, we will hear more about George Bush in the next four months than we heard in the four months prior to the last election. The question is: Will Americans be sucked into his oratory this time' or will Americans see through the smoke and mirrors???

Historically, Americans are doers. When they see a need for action, they do not ask what to do, they act.

Now is one of those times for that spirit to emerge again. All of the Gulf states as (and contractors) should tell the Federal Government to get out of the way so they (the states) can do what is necessary to protect themselves.

Do not wait for the approval which wil never come. Do not let the bureaucrats stand in the way. Do what is necessary. Do what is right. Act!

You can bet that Holder and Barry are cooking up even more problems for all concerned and the growing oil spill is a real good indicator of how a tar baby draws problems. These two trouble makers in the government always seem to have the ingredients to make things worse, it's like Holder carries a can of gas-o-line for fuel and Barry always seems to have a book of matches and somehow they don't seem to get caught at it.

Does anyone really believe that this man, the current President, has this country's interests at heart? So far, he has done everything to destroy this nation! It is really tragic that we don't have an honest and objective media who place integrity above politics!

It's like a nightmare. Those of you who voted for this man did absolutely nothing to find out beforehand who he was. He is a big -0- and he not only hates America but he will not and he cannot change. Something must be done to stop his Socialist agenda. Read one reformed Liberal Psychiatrist's evaluation of Obama's personality. Google Robin of Berkley. Her evaluation fits him to a T.

Obama reminds me of an OZ character that floated about the country side blowing out loud and bad smelling gas when ever it tried to speak. It didn't show much intelligence or problem solving abilities either. My dad used to say the best boss was one who let the local expert solve the problem and lugged his tool bag for him.

One of the posts indicated refusing the help from 13 countries is just what she said, an intentional move on part of the Horror in our White House. Here he get the chance again to bull shit the country about Cap and Tax. Will the American people be suckerd once again with his lies, lies and more lies. Some dopes probably. Hopefully the stupid, uninformed can maybe open their eyes and realize this menace is destroying us one by one. Maybe Obama is the want to be dictator most of us thought from day one. His inactions with the Gulf Disaster is one perfect example. November hurry up so we can throw some of these Life time idiots to the curb. If some of you haven't heard, more videos and statement from Officials in Hawaii are claiming and showing proof the radical muslim big O was not born in Hawaii. They are willing to go to court and testify. Now let's see how they cover this up. Hope the officals have 24/7 bodyguards, we know the Black Pathers are one of Obama great organizations and let not forget the other disgrace, Eric Holder.

What a time for the most wonderful nation in this Universe having to have such a disgrace in office and putting his agenda of our destruction to work. Hope all you poor uninformed that put your country in this peril are happy with the change, let's pray it is not toooooooo late to undo what he and his commie buddies have done.

I don't know much about the Southern states, but based off of what was posted about Louisiana, part of Obama's strategy is to choke any external funding off from the state and force them to be more reliant on federal dollars there by increasing is leverage on the state.

Well gosh, if this whole thing had been shut down at an early stage little Obama's shakedown for forty billion dollars on BP would have looked unreasonable. The worse the damage, the more the amount of the shakedown seems reasonable. Screw those Red States on the Gulf–let no crisis go to waste in terms of how it can benefit Obama's political cronies. And who will get to play with that all that money? Oh gosh—my guess is somebody who is politically connected with Obama.

Come on now!!! You folks need to understand by now Mr Obama and his Czars are not stupid!!!!!! They know exactly what they are doing. Some things can happen overnight, other things there is simply no time for. Us Crackers need to smarten up and quickly. Again understand they know exactly what they are doing……. Do we???????? The Oil Disaster is as Pink Floyd put it… Another Brick in the Wall!!!!!!!

A litany of unintended consequences. As we have all seen and heard–government is the biggest obstacle in the way of the fight to protect the gulf and kill the monster. I hope and pray that things will change, that the majority will awaken to the reality storm and right our country's course. If they don't, America will… toss em overboard, to drown, never looking back.

I am starting to think Zero may be intentionally trying to punish Southerners. Given his fixation over a supposed beating the British allegedly administered to his grandfather six-score ago, is it really so much of a stretch to believe he is trying to even some psychic score of his Kenyan-black half?

We are witnessing one of the strangest combinations in history: a political genius, except for the genius part; a brilliant orator, except for the speaking ability; a madman, world-dominating, master planner, except for the world-domination and strategic planning. Er…okay, I guess he's just a psychopathological back-bencher from that Christmas tree of burned out bulbs known as the Illinois State Senate with, as the Scots say, a "sonsie face." The guy should be selling shoes at Nordstrom.

I agree with the comments posted by others who clearly believe Obama is not stuck on stupid, but is intentionally and methodically destroying the United States of America. I am now convinced that we don't know who Obama is, but we clearly knew what he belived before he even received the Democrat Party nomination two Summers ago. We must have a veto proof Conservative Congress (House and Senate) to turn our great Country back to where we belong – in greatness, in freedom and in lead! Any thing less than veto proof, will yield two more years of frustation and a continuation of the decline of the United States in the eyes of the world. The latter will be dangerous and will embolden those who hate us.

Why wait for Obama or the Federal Government to take action…they obviously have a different goal in mind.How about LA take matters into their own hands and solve this problem with BP and with help from it's citizens and the rest of us Americans.Let's see how far Obama is willing to oppress,enslave and destroy this country….would he oppose by force not only LA but AZ also if these states flat out refused to comply with what are made up laws and roadblocks that he and his administration are trying to implement in order to serve their purpose rather than the people?

Show some backbone America…"United we stand,divided we fall"!We as citizens deserve better from our elected government,they can do nothing unless we give them the power to do it.They are just men and women the same as you and me and they are the few and we are the many!!!

When I tried to leave a comment – "it" said I was too fast….it took in 10 minutes to compose my response…..and I conformed to the rules – but my comment was apparently deleted. Obviously this site is only meant to bash Obama!

[…] Morning Bell: Oil Spill Response is “Stuck on Stupid”? – God help us survive until November (and only if America doesn’t get “stuck on stupid.”) Saying that the Federal government’s response to the oil disaster is … Heritage.org (blog) […]

Could JIndahl do something like sue the Department of Interior or Department of Commerce indicating that the White House was behind this spill. This is all too conincidental for me. This is too well planned and now all of a sudden the apparatus being implemented will work? HMMMM to suspicious for me. I firmly believe and I have all along that the regime did this all on purpose for none other than MONEY!!!

obama goes beyond inept and incompetent. This is criminal negligence. Someone in the comments mentioned treason, and I don't think that word is too strong. Unfortunately, we get the leaders we deserve. The fact that 30% of Americans think that obama ranks in the top ten presidents is sobering. The gov't schools have done their job, which is to turn out brainless little consumers incapable of independent thought. I worry for the future of our country.

I find it odd that Obama reserves all public appearances for himself (except sometimes Holder and Axlerod, Gibbs doesn't count) and his two teleprompters.. It seems he wants us to believe he is the government, our big daddy. Good luck with that.

Why does he need two teleprompters? So he can talk out of both sides of his mouth.

Just remember,Obama said he has been on this problem since the beginning–Hmmm! looks like it has only made the situation worse by standing in the way of immediate help which possibly could have controlled a lot of the oil . Our 'organizer' sure flunked this one.

The government has pronounced BP guilty of everything possible and imposed financial penalties by imperial decree (to be awarded by one person without any input from BP — an unlimited reach into a private company's bank account as he has already said that when he blows through the initial amount, he can get all the extra money he needs from BP without any pesky oversight). All this without benefit of an impartial investigation by qualified persons (Senators don't count) and without the protections provided by the judicial system.

So BP is on the hook for all damages. And the government's incompetent leadership, as this post details, has multiplied the extent of the damages by vast percentages. Will Obama or anyone else attempt to assign responsibility for any of the costs to government? Or give BP any kind of a break for damages that are really the fault of government? Don't count on it. Obama promised to bankrupt the coal industry. He's now trying to bankrupt a private corporation by imposing unlimited financial penalties, as well as cripple the oil industry in general. When and why did any president acquire power of this magnitude? And why have so few of our political leaders protested the whole series of unprecedented power grabs by this president?

What is the problem with this government. Top to bottom "blah blah" but failure to produce. They whole complicit lot needs to be removed from office. Let the lawsuits flow! Better yet, hire private contractors to do the job this failure government cannot/isn't/won't do.

Our President Obama must have a "hidden" agenda. He has foiled and fooled around with everything that makes this country AMERICA. BP oil spill is just one more evidence of how inept this man and his administration are. Why not waive the Jones Act and bring in the big guys who could have contained this within a short time compared to what has happened. We are now nearing 100 days of spewing oil, destruction of the wetlands in Louisiana (that our administration would not allow Louisiana to protect by building berms), and now Lake Ponchatrain (forgive my spelling).

Now that Uncle Sam runs car companies, banks, wall street, health care and on and on, when will the American people wake up and make US stand for United States again? If I wanted to live in a socialist country there are others I could choose from, I don't want this country to be one of them. They come here because we offer freedom and THE AMERICAN WAY. When did that become unimportant? What are we going to do about it? BP is only a symptom, not the problem — that lies in Washington DC.

Connect the dots. One of his Czars was responsible for the explosion. Obama wanted the oil "spill" in order to further his no drilling agenda. After all, only weeks before the "spill" he announced that he was goint to "consider" off shore and other drilling. Now he is using his man made crisis to shut down the oil industry. How else to weaken our economy for the eventual take over by his muslim friends. He has accomplished in 18 months what it took Hitler three years to do in the mid thirties.

This president and administration should be impeached. What they are doing is criminal. They are deliberately destroying the lives of millions of US citizens to get their way with Cap & Trade and huge tax increases in the near future.

There is no common sense reason why suddenly all wells are unsafe.

There is no common sense reason to support and finance drilling in Brazil waters and force the (unsafe) Gulf rigs to go to Brazil and destroy the Brazil economy and millions of lives over there. Killing people and/or destroying their lives is still criminal even if it is in Brazil (or any other country).

Why do the Gulf coast citizens have to suffer. Just pay Soros of with our taxes and do not harm and hurt the Gulf coast people to play your dirty games. The people understand the connection between the oil investments by Soros in Brazil, the billions in this administration's subsidies for drilling in Brazil waters and then forcing the drilling rigs out of the Gulf.

This administration has already set the precedent for taking the previous administration to court. We must demand that the next administration does the same.

[…] via competence. Specifically, Bobby Jindal is emerging as the most fantastic of leaders while facing the aforementioned catastrophe, largely because of how he does stuff that’s actually useful. It takes substance to deal with […]

[…] day of the Gulf oil spill, to discuss the spill and BP’s relief efforts. According to the Heritage Foundation, today was the first time since June 22 that Obama had publicly acknowledged the spill’s […]

I have an idea on how to get the 'Feds' out of the way. Defy them… Don't obey thier stupid rules, and just do what needs to be done. If the Coast Guard or Navy or whatever agency the Fed's use try to shut you down, make them force you to stop. Make them haul you in to dock. Every news reporter and amature journalist around should be there to film and document it when you come into port under force of arms, for cleaning up the spill and protecting the local environment.

Make it a publicity and political nightmare for the Feds. Show exactally what they are up to. Make it clear to the world that their response isn't about public safety, or whatever they claim. The Feds want to use this issue for political clout to push their cap & tax program. If we show them for what they are, they will either have to back down and let the clean up be done, or they will lose any political clout they may have gained during this time of tradgedy.

Be willing to expose them, to make them force their hand. And the State of LA, MS, AL, & FL; you need to be willing to support the men and women who do this. Provide your State's Attorneys and provide bail money for these people. Show the world that the States support the clean-up effort, even as the Federal Governement opposes it.

[…] Mexico, News Articles, Oil & Gas Industry, Washington No Comments _ Over the last four weeks, The Heritage Foundation sent multiple teams of respected energy, environment, homeland security and response experts to the Gulf to study the […]

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